All That Glitters – is Gold!

Antique Reddish Gold Cufflinks with Sapphires, c. 1910

€ 690.00 ^*

Content 1 piece

Incl. VAT, Shipping

Antique Reddish Gold Cufflinks with Sapphires, c. 1910

Description

This description was automatically translated from German. If you have any questions about this piece of jewellery, we will be happy to help!

Pieces of jewellery made of gold from the turn of the century often appear today with a slightly reddish hue, commonly described in the trade as rose gold and regarded as a distinguishing feature of jewellery from that era. In reality, however, this reddish tone of the gold alloy was not originally visible in many such pieces. The pair of cufflinks we discovered in Thuringia, made around 1910, demonstrates this clearly upon closer inspection. Their martelé-finished, diamond-shaped faces with inset sapphires now gleam warmly in that rosy hue, though here and there a more golden tone contributes to their lustre. A closer examination of these cufflinks, particularly in the less exposed areas, reveals that they originally had a layer of fine gold applied over the reddish alloy, entirely concealing it and giving the impression of very high-carat gold. This fine gold surface, with its velvety appearance, could be produced in two ways: either by electroplating fine gold particles onto the gold-copper alloy, or by immersing the pieces in caustic aqua regia to dissolve the copper particles from the surface of the alloy. What remained was a soft, shimmering, wafer-thin layer of fine gold on the surface of the jewellery. In English-speaking countries, this technique is known as a "bloom finish". Due to decades of wear and subsequent polishing, this surface has now been lost, and the cufflinks reveal the underlying material from which they were made. Only the knowledgeable observer can still detect traces of the fine gold finish that once adorned them.

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In jewelry processing, gold is usually alloyed with other metals to make it harder and less susceptible to scratching. For this purpose, the fine gold is melted together with silver and copper until a homogeneous alloy is created that has the desired properties - the admixtures change the color of the gold. Gold alloys in which fine gold is mixed with copper appear reddish to red, while those with silver appear pale green. Only the balanced alloying of fine gold with silver and copper can produce gold colors with a pleasant appearance, which can vary greatly from workshop to workshop.

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Size & Details

All That Glitters – is Gold!

€ 690.00 ^*

Content 1 piece

Incl. VAT, Shipping

Our Promise

We want you to be 100% satisfied! For that reason, we examine, describe and photograph all of our jewellery with the utmost care.

You can rely on our years of experience in the trade and our expertise as a professional art historians for reviews of the antique jewellery. As a member of various trade organisations and the British Society of Jewellery Historians, we remain committed to the highest possible degree of accuracy. In our descriptions, we always also indicate any signs of age and defects and never hide them in our photos – this saves you from any unpleasant surprises when your package arrives.

Should you for some reason not be satisfied, please don’t hesitate to contact us so that we can find a solution together. In any case, you can return any article within one month and we will refund the full purchase price.

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All That Glitters – is Gold!

Cufflinks

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